The winger was accused of feigning a foot injury in an attempt to push through his supposed world-record deal to Real Madrid, with his price tag rising through the £100million mark.

Some Spurs fans reacted angrily to the news that Bale would not feature in the pre-season matches away in Hong Kong, Monaco or at White Hart Lane against Espanyol, yet was named in the Wales squad to face the Republic of Ireland on Wednesday.

The foot injury he was supposedly faking was confirmed by the FAW on their official website, with Tony Pulis praising Bale for his commitment in joining up with the squad despite injury:

“Gareth was keen to join up with the squad and Tottenham were more than happy for him to do so.

"He trained alone and will not feature in the game on Wednesday." Claimed the official FAW website.

“His foot looks fine to me”

The 24-year-old was seen taking part in a light training session which sparked yet more fury among the simpler Spurs fans, who claimed that if he was fit enough to run, he was immediately “match-fit”. This is not the case.

Evidence of Bale’s foot injury became clearer when he had to be driven to the training ground by a friend in the days he spend undergoing therapy at the Spurs Lodge.

No strops from Gareth

From the outside looking in, nobody can claim that Bale is the sort of player to “push” a move anywhere. He does not have the same fiery attitude which saw Dimitar Berbatov and Luka Modric both leave in strops with the club, instead Bale has always painted a calm and grounded picture of himself.

The Spurs fans who claimed he was “faking” the injury have been made to look rather silly. But we are all still on tenterhooks to see if our Welsh wonder stays.